Spanish lender Santander is reportedly planning to roll out an online deposit platform in the US to collect required funding for its consumer business.
Santander US CEO Scott Powell told The Financial Times that the bank will introduce a “national deposit gathering platform” within 2020.
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Powell further told the publication that the new platform will enable the bank to reduce its funding costs.
The Spanish bank is currently unable to attract depositors beyond its nine-state footprint despite offering car loans thought the US in collaboration with motor dealerships.
An online deposit platform will enable the bank to surpass the barrier of physical branches that has restricted its capacity to attract deposits from other cities, the publication said.
Currently, Santander depends on wholesale funding for its consumer business. The latest move is said to change this trend.
The bank will reportedly provide higher rates on deposit compared to other high street banks. According to Financial Times, the aim is to compete with Marcus by Goldman Sachs.
In the future, the Spanish bank intends to launch its full-service digital bank, Open Bank, in the US.
The latest move comes after Santander’s business witnessed a mixed business environment in the US market for a few years.
Santander became the first bank in 2016 to fail the Federal Reserve’s stress tests for three years consecutively.
